This June ten Scottish and English folk musicians will head to the west coast Isle of Eigg to make an album together that reflects on the issue of ‘separation’ in its many forms, through traditional song. They include Karine Polwart, Eliza Carthy, Mary Macmaster, Hannah James and more.

Rural Music is a collection of songs that exudes contentment. Absorbing lyrics, eloquent story-telling and a thoroughly engaging sound create enough sunshine to thaw those snowy hilltops. Seek out this album from Ash Hunter , and get your summer off to a good start. You won’t regret it.

In the first of our two part exclusive interview we take Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman back to their musical origins. They provide us with an exclusive and fascinating insight into their early days and folk supergroup Equation. Kathryn and Sean are our Artists of the Month for April.

Although not well known outside of their North East London stomping grounds, The Persecuted have the potential to attract far wider audiences already tuned in to the likes of Turner, Chris T-T and Beans On Toast.

In the latest video interview series for the new album ‘Murmurs’ from Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr, Andy introduces the diatonic accordion he made in France with Emmanuel Pariselle. He can tell a great story and he plays a fine tune as well…

Coming up this month at Kings Place, London is a special Scottish weekend series of events featuring Roddy Woomble, Dick Gaughan, James Grant, Rura, Ewan McLennan, Sorren Maclean & Samantha Whates focusing on Scotland’s rich treasury of words and stories, and the strong tradition of songwriting.

Our Song of the Day comes from Wilder Maker, the songwriting project of Gabriel Birnbaum, with Fools, the lead single from Everyday Crimes Against Objects Of Desire Vol. II, due April 7. It has an irresistable chorus.

With Charms Against Sorrow, Hannah Sanders places a wide range of traditional songs in a contemporary folk setting and in the process enables the listener to experience them in a new light on this finely-crafted and beautifully realised debut record.

Bella Hardy’s seventh studio album ‘With The Dawn’ contains originals that deftly bridges new and old, forging new links between the two without forgetting the importance of the song, another feather in the cap for an award winning artist.

These new editions are both handsome and pretty much definitive, and likely the most desirable ones to have residing permanently in your Tyrannosaurus Rex collection.

With the excitement already mounting for the release of Murmurs, the new album from Martin Simpson – Andy Cutting – Nancy Kerr. Topic Records reveal a new video interview with Nancy in which she talks about one of the fiddles that she uses on the new album. One she bought when she was just 18.

Welsh singer-songwriter Lowri Evans made the most of a recent trip to the US where she played several gigs in the Big Apple before heading onto the Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. We caught up with her recently to ask her about the trip and the unexpected final showcase for Michael Eavis.